STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

In October 1,500 head of sheep will trot down Main Street Ketchum as thousands of spectators from around the world come for the Trailing of the Sheep Festival.

On Thursday it was a single fiberglass ewe perched in a planter outside The Argyros that pointed the way to the inaugural Trailing of the Sheep Fundraiser.

An Andy Warhol-inspired tableau of lambs on the screen inside and cocktails named “The Marilyn Ewe” and “The Warhol Ram” told the rest of the story.

Among those in attendance were Drew and Karen Porth, an architect and physician. Having lived in a variety of places, including Red Lodge, Mont., they had most recently lived in Boise. They’d always wanted to come to Trailing of the Sheep Festival but weren’t sure they could find a place to stay.

They moved to Ketchum in January and are adamant that they will be at this year’s festival, which runs Oct. 4-8. So adamant that they sprung for a sneak preview by attending Thursday’s event.

“We’re so excited knowing we’re finally going to see it,” said Karen Porth. “And I love to knit so I’m going to sign up for classes.”

Sydney Darling said her favorite part of the Trailing is all the people she’s met who have come from as far away as Wales. Last year’s sheep trailing attracted 30,000 people from 47 states and multiple countries, said Laura Musbach Drake, the Festival’s executive director.

Paul Preston said his favorite part is the farm-to-table dinner.

“The sheep crossing above the hospital makes my heart go pitter patter,” said Delilah Carden, a St. Luke’s hospital employee there with Jakub Galezynski.

Jack Sept came out in support of the Festival because his family worked a sheep and cattle ranch near Sheridan, Wyo.

“It’s such a connection with my bringing, my background,” he said. “My mother stayed home during World War II to herd sheep while the men were off.”

“It’s history. It’s tradition, and it’s great fun watching the sheep come through town,” added his wife Anne Jeffery. “And there’s so much to do at the Folklife Fair—the dancing, the sheep dog trials. It’s one of the best festivals in the United States. Period. And that’s not just me talking. Many publications have said it is.”

Silent Auction items included First Lite shirts made of “the best merino in the world,” a Pendleton blanket and a glass cutting board that boasted an image of an original wool-felted picture of grazing sheep with Bald Mountain in the background.

The live auction featured a number of packages you won’t find in other auctions. Among them, a VIP photography tour to photograph “millions of sheep” that went for $1,250 and a private lunch and tour of the Flat Top Sheep Ranch near Carey that went for $2,250. Also, a two-night stay in a sheep camp with hot springs that went for $1,200.

The live auction also featured an eight-day trip to a Mexican resort of one’s choice that went for $4,000,  a trip to Tuscany that went for $3,250 and a trip for four to six people to Hawaii or Ireland that went for $9,000.

“With your bids you’re supporting this community, you’re supporting continuing education and the families, the generations of sheep ranchers,” Cory Peavey told the crowd.

Peavey’s grandparents, John and Diane Peavey, started the Festival to educate Wood River Valley residents about the valley’s sheep heritage and to preserve the stories of the sheepherders, the sheep dogs and the rancher families.

“The thing that moves me the most—definitely the stories. That’s what people remember,” said Cory Peavey. “This is for the generations that come before and for the generations that come after.”